The Dunames Dark Witch
by kwlgirlbec
Summary: Alexa Kage is a real life Dunames Dark Witch, a brave and independant woman who will never retreat from battle. However, when Kaiba Corp sets out challenges to seek out promising employees, retreat may have been a much better idea, as she is caught up in the ever increasing drama that is the life of Seto Kaiba.
1. Chapter 1 - Challenge Accepted

**Chapter One - Challenge Accepted**

Alexa frowned as her opponent's _Cyber-Tech Alligator_ was called to attack her face down card. Usually one of her strongest defences, her _Shining Abyss_ had no chance to withstand an attack of 2500 points. Fortunately, the sacrifice meant she was still in this duel.

"I play my face down card; _Enchanted Javelin_ ," she called over to her opponent, activating the trap card with the touch of a button on her duel disk.

Carter's pale gray eyes narrowed as her life points increased by the sum of the monsters attack, restoring them to an impressive 3200 points. With Carter's own life points down to 1500, Alexa allowed herself a small sigh of relief, taking comfort in the fact that it wasn't over just yet. Wincing, she watched as her card was shattered, sparks falling to the pavement of the alleyway that acted as their battlefield.

"Give it up, Alexa. You're away with your fairies if you think some spare life points can save you now," he boasted. Alexa readied herself as he called the direct attack to her life points, the Mechanicalchaser bringing her life points straight back down to 1350. "But just in case you get any funny ideas, I'll place these two cards face down and end my turn."

Ending his turn activated her continuous trap card ' _Ominous Fortunetelling'_. Alexa knew it all came down to one question; was the card he had picked from his hand a monster, spell, or trap?

"Monster," she decided, holding her breath as he revealed his card.

The card was _Blast Sphere_. Alexa gazed at her cards as Carter's life points dropped to 800. Drawing a card, she took a deep breath and played her monster in face down defence position and ended her turn.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Better luck next time," he smirked, already relishing in his win.

The Alligator slashed at the face down card. As the hologram rose to reveal the destroyed card Carter's face began to pale, his life points dropping to zero. Alexa gathered her deck, carefully placing it back in its pouch at her belt. Then, she exchanged her duel disk for the laptop in her bag and walked over to a kneeling Carter, holding the device out for him to take.

He looked up, hatred poisoning his features. His eyes brewed like a storm, and his mouth disappeared into a thin line. With a sharp tug, he took the laptop and began typing rapidly. After almost two hours of standing around in an alleyway, Carter slammed the laptop shut. Storming over to her refuge spot, where Alexa was leaning against the wall. He shoved the thing in her face before going to retrieve his bag.

"Pleasure doing business with you," she muttered as he stalked away, his light gray hair the only thing she could make out as he faded away into the darkness.

XxX

Naturally, as Alexa arrived into her small apartment, her eyes swept the room. Deciding nothing was amiss, she set herself up at the breakfast bar, placing the laptop in front of her and opening it up. The screen lit up to show a blue screen, the Kaiba Corp logo the only thing present, spinning 180 degrees at two second intervals. Clicking on the logo, the laptop seemed to launch a full-screen video of the man himself; Seto Kaiba.

"Listen up, so far your completion of these tasks up until now has managed to prove to me that you might not be completely worthless, but I suggest you stop now if you found them hard, because that's nothing compared to what you are about to face." The digital Kaiba warned her.

 _Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine_ , she thought with a small shake of her head, a smile hinting at her lips. So far Alexa had found the whole thing quite enjoyable. The front cover of 'Duel Weekly' was the first sign. Kaiba's picture was an action shot, hand stretched as if he had declared an attack. His hands were visible and amongst his hand was the card 'Jar of Greed'. However, only a second rate duellist would favour that card over 'Pot of Greed'. Further analysis revealed several minor errors in duel monsters stats throughout the magazine providing coordinates. This had lead her to a building, in which she gained entry using the card as an access key and proceeded to find the hidden compartment containing the laptop.

Alexa realised as soon as she deciphered the coordinates she was on to something. Finally, all her hard work was about to pay off. The only problem was that regardless of her intellect, duel monsters knowledge, and detective work being on par with Kaiba's tests, she had lacked the knowledge to be able to hack past the laptop's security systems, despite her best efforts. So, she risked it all on a duel; either she lost and Carter got the laptop, or she won and he hacked it for her. She smiled, recalling how Carter had sealed his own fate, placing those two cards face down, meaning a deduction of 1000 life points as ' _Princess of Tsurugi'_ flip effect was activated as he attacked.

"Kaiba Corporation is a multi-billion dollar company, built on my astounding intellect and ability to get what I want. Now it's time for you to do the same. It's time to duel, but only if you have the guts to challenge me." With that Kaiba's face broke out in a smile that sent shivers down her spine. "Good luck, you'll be needing it."

With that final remark, the screen went black. Alexa sighed. Defeating Carter in a duel was one thing, but Seto Kaiba? There was no way he expected to be beaten. There were only a select number of duellists that had managed it. So, what was the real test here? With a shake of her head, she peeled the tape off that she had used to cover the webcam and grinned.

"Challenge accepted."


	2. Chapter 2 - Call Me Kage, Alexa Kage

**Chapter Two - They Call Me Kage, Alexa Kage**

Alexa wasn't so naïve as to think that she could walk up to Kaiba with a chirpy, ' _hey there Kaiba, fancy a quick Duel?_ '. Obviously they had clocked on to her as soon as she had entered that building. As far as she could see, there were three options; infiltrate his home, his business, or she could intercept him in transit. Immediately, transit was out. It was too easy, it caused a scene and, honestly, it wouldn't make the best impression.

In the end, Alexa settled on his business, deeming it rude to enter his home. From there she set out on getting what she needed; a plan to the building, detail on the security systems, and his schedule, for a start (this sort of hacking was much more Alexa's speed, rather than the encryption she had faced with the laptop).

Spending the full week submerged in Kaiba Corp systems, she finally decided she was ready to proceed. That night she donned tight, black pants that hugged her curves. Not only did they make her look awesome, but they were a sturdy material, flexible enough to kick ass in. Her dark grey tank top was woven with fibres to protect against body blows and her jacket matched her pants, the arms three-quarters for full movement and the bottom coming to her waist.

Her silky brunette hair, usually long and curly, was plaited and secured in a crown around her head. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she shut her laptop, already setting up the cameras she needed on a loop. It was a cocky move, but she was here to make an impression.

Casually, she walked into the building. The whole place was pretty quiet, since it was almost 8 o'clock. All she had to do was look like she knew what she was doing and people barely gave her a second glance. One guy did manage a double take, but Alexa was pretty sure it wasn't a recognition response. Giving him a slanted smile she headed towards the stairway.

Many stairs later, Alexa reached the floor below the secure levels. From here on out, the real challenge began. Heading in the opposite direction to the elevator leading to the higher floors, she picked a spot to access the ceiling. Carefully, she used a window ledge to reach the tiles and managed to lift and slide it across. Alexa thanked her lucky stars that the building was of good quality. Once before she had done a similar thing and ended up crashing to the floor as the ceiling gave way from her weight. She would have sued if it wouldn't have gone against the whole incognito thing.

Replacing the tile, Alexa was soon on her way, navigating to the elevator shaft. It seemed her luck was running out as she began to climb the shaft. Usually, she liked to just ride the elevator up, but it was likely that after fifteen minutes of waiting around, she was just going to have to scale the thing.

From here, Alexa was blind. There were no schematics of the top floors, so she was basically going to have to drop in and hope she ended up in Kaiba's office. Not the best of her plans, she had to admit. Deciding the spot she had found was as good as any, she slid the tile over and dropped in.

Four men in suits could not have been more shocked. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the guy closest to her and knocked him out immediately. The rest of the guys sprung into action. Alexa used her speed to dodge their blows. Grabbing one guy's arm, she yanked him forward to bring him down with the force of his own punch. The other two ganged up, much more wary of their opponent. Landing a few good blows, they grew confident, not expecting Alexa to drop and kick their feet from under them as they edged closer. Once they were down, they were out.

Alexa took a moment to catch her breath. Once her heart rate had returned to normal, she looked up to find a dark haired teen, watching her with wide, violet eyes as she stood amongst the unconscious bodies of the four suits.

"Err, hi. I don't suppose you would believe me if I said I came in peace, would you?" She asked tentatively.

"Alexa?" His voice was high pitched in disbelief.

"Yeah. Mokuba, right?" She said impassively, trying to keep her face straight. The boy nodded, still gawping at the suits lying on the floor. "Well, umm, I guess you know why I'm here considering you know my name and all. Don't suppose you could give me some directions to your brother's office, do you?"

Alexa almost expected the young boy to scowl, imagining him to be the mini Seto Kaiba, but to her surprise Mokuba's mouth began to twitch upwards hinting that he was trying his best to suppress a smile.

"Sure, why not?" He laughed.

This time it was Alexa's turn to gawp at the sixteen year old standing before her. His black hair was swept back and his face lit up with his smile. Obviously, the younger Kaiba was as mischievous as his older counterpart was cocky and brooding. Finding her expression amusing, he gestured for her to follow, falling alongside her once he had checked the way was clear.

"So, how did you get in?" He inquired, giving her a sidelong glance.

"I walked in through the front door." She said smugly. Mokuba gave a snort of disbelief. "No seriously. It wouldn't be on the live footage since I looped the cameras, but it will be in the history files for review."

"Please don't tell me you went to all that trouble, just so you could say you walked in through the front door." Mokuba scolded her, jokingly.

"Absolutely. I aim to impress." She replied, accessing the route they were taking.

Much to her surprise, Mokuba was actually leading her in the direction that she believed may contain the office. Security grew tight, but all he had to do was swipe a card, or tell the staff the clear out, and they happily obliged. As they reached some sort of reception, Alexa realised this was it and her mind rewarded her with a brilliant idea.

"Do me a favour?" She asked Mokuba. He nodded, noting the grin on her face. "Call him out for a second, any excuse you like that won't make him suspicious. I'll need two minutes."

"That I can do. He needs a break," the younger Kaiba's expression softened as Alexa noted the genuine look of concern Mokuba had for his brother. She suspected he had to drag him away from his work much more often than he would have liked, but at least Kaiba wouldn't suspect he was helping her. With a nod, Alexa hid herself, listening as the man himself emerged from his office, stressing to Mokuba he didn't need a break as he followed him out of the reception.

As Kaiba returned three minutes later, nose embedded in some sheets of paper, Alexa couldn't keep a straight face as she reclined in his exceedingly comfy chair, feet resting on the desk in his personal office.

"Mr. Kaiba, how nice of you to join me," she chirped, happily.

To his credit, Kaiba's poker face was impressive, remaining impassive as he took in her lounging form. Throwing her copy of 'Duelist Weekly' on the desk for him to see, she smiled sweetly as he looked at the cover, registering a vague annoyance, like she was some sort of fly buzzing around his face.

"I believe this is the part where you beg me to work for you, unless you still wanted me to challenge you?" She questioned him, one eyebrow raised.

"Feet off the desk and, while you're at it, why don't you walk out of here. I don't have time for this and you're deluded if you think you can actually win a duel against me." He remarked, voice deep and taunting.

"On the contrary. You see I had the foresight of clearing your diary, adding in our meeting and time for our duel. I even hacked your systems to book a duelling arena, in case your were so scared you insisted you had forgotten your duel disk, or something." She tilted her head to the side in challenge, a smile hinting at her face as Kaiba checked his phone, probably checking his calendar, scowling as he realised her words were true.

"Mr. Kaiba!" A suit took this moment to interrupt the exchange. _Roland_ , Alexa realised noting the man's trademark green hair and shades.

The man looked taken aback as he realised Alexa had already made her way into Kaiba's office. The man scowled, obviously realising he had failed in his role to stop her reaching Kaiba himself.

"Roland, if you want to keep your job I suggest you meet me on the roof with my briefcase. It seems your incompetence means I have to spend my time duelling this idiot," he sneered.

Taking off his tie, and undoing the top button on his shirt, he span, heading to what Alexa supposed was the direction of the roof. She was surprised when, as she went to follow, Roland grabbed her arm, drawing her back.

"How did you get in here?" He growled, clearly more protective over his domain than Alexa would have thought.

"Check your security cameras. I used the front door, the stairs, and then I climbed the elevator shaft to get up here." Alexa scowled, a lot more stoic than she had planned to be when she revealed her brilliance.

Any other suit and she would have added a side comment about how they should pick up the lax security, but looking at Roland's expression, she felt genuinely sorry that she had stepped all over the security measures he had put in place to protect his charges. Releasing her arm, he walked out the room, Alexa following behind, shoving the feeling of guilt to the back of her mind.


	3. Chapter 3 - It's Time to Duel (1)

**Authors Note:** Hello, readers! So I had some very good advice in my comments and I've rethought things a bit. This story was actually already written so I'm editing a bit - hopefully for the better. Anyway, thank you Time Thief. This won't be perfect, but hopefully I'll get better. Also just for you I have options - read the whole duel in (1) or just the brief summary in (2) before continuing with the rest of the chapter. This is probably very weird, but oh well. It was kind of nice writing a full duel, but man it took some research!

 **Chapter Three - It's Time to Duel (1)**

 **(Full Duel Version)**

"Let's get this over with," Kaiba sneered, activating his duel disk.

Alexa looked at her hand, silently thanking the Egyptian Gods that it was a good one. She decided to play the 'Dunames Dark Witch' in attack mode, hoping her favourite card would see her through this duel. In retaliation, Kaiba played 'La Jinn The Mystical Genie'. With both of their monsters having an attack of 1800, they were at a stalemate.

"I'll play one card face down," he added, looking bored as he placed the card on his duel disk.

Alexa sighed. Not attacking, it was clear he was drawing her into a trap. The problem was, he had most likely planned for both scenarios and was ready to bring out an incredibly strong monster. Drawing her next card, Alexa formulated a plan in her mind.

"Go, Dunames Dark Witch!" She called to her monster, hand stretched.

"Not so fast, I reveal my face down card, 'Ring of Destruction'."

Alexa winced as her favourite card was sent to the graveyard, both of their life points dropping to 2200 as it deduced the attack of the monster from both players. The fact that Kaiba had sustained the damage too was a plus. In her second main phase she played her favourite combination of 'Maha Vailo' with 'United We Stand', achieving an attack of 2850 through the monsters ability to increase its attack by 500 for every equip card attached. Add that to the extra 800 points for every monster on the field and it was a terrifying combination to face.

"Impressed? I bet you wish you'd kept that ring for another day," she smiled.

"It was a good plan, making me use my trap, but your mistake was leaving me with a monster on the field," he explained.

All Alexa could do was watch as Kaiba activated the Spell Card, 'Cost Down'. Sacrificing his 'La Jinn' he summoned his famed monster, the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon', now a six star monster thanks to the Spell Card. Alexa's breath caught in her throat as she stared down the formidable beast. Her jaw clenched as she cursed her luck that Kaiba would have the only card combination in his hand that could beat her own.

"Now my 'Blue Eyes', attack," he commanded.

Life points dropping to 1950, Alexa pushed down her frustration. Her next card out of her deck was 'Luminous Spark',which increased the attack of light monsters. Her jaw clenched at the fact that this would help power up 'Blue Eyes' just as much as her own deck. She cursed that she hadn't thought of this beforehand.

'You stupid girl. Do you even think before you act? You're supposed to be better than this, but you're just a pawn to sacrifice, a soldier to mindlessly follow orders,' the words echoed in her head.

Shaking the spiteful voice away, she focussed on her next move, putting 'The Unhappy Maiden' into defence mode. Kaiba played 'Lord of Dragons' protecting his dragon from her card effects. He called his attack eradicating her defence, but fortunately her card's effect brought his battle phase to an end.

"Maybe you should give up now and save yourself the humiliation," Kaiba taunted.

"The duel's not over until someone's life points hit zero," she snapped. Alexa breathed, trying to calm herself. She was being her own worst enemy, allowing her past to haunt her. She drew, deciding to play 'Pot of Greed' to help her out.

"I pay 800 life points to play 'Premature Burial' to bring back my 'Maha Vailo'," she began. Another clever combination, the Spell equipped to the monster it brought back. "Now, I'll equip it with 'Bright Castle' to increase its attack by 700 points, and if my math is correct my monster has an attack of 3250. So, go 'Maha Vailo', attack 'Blue Eyes'," she demanded.

Standing tall, she watched as Kaiba's favourite card was sent to the graveyard and his life points fell to 1950, her own now at 1150. Assessing her opponent, Alexa was annoyed to see he was unfazed. She placed one card face down and ended her turn.

"You may have defeated my 'Blue Eyes', but he won't be down for long. I play 'Monster Reborn'."

Alexa's mouth thinned into a tight line. She had seen enough of Kaiba's duels to know what was coming next. Immediately his 'Blue Eyes' was gone, merging with it's brethren in Kaiba's hand to form his 'Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon'. Calling his attack Alexa activated her face down card 'Negate Attack', saving her from the dragon's wrath. As the battle phase ended, Kaiba put his 'Lord of Dragon' in defence mode.

Alexa drew, holding her breath.

"I play one monster in defence mode and another card face down," Alexa called, placing the remaining cards from her hand onto her disk.

Kaiba looked her directly in the eye, assessing her poker face. However, all Alexa dared to show was her determination to beat him. Coming to a decision he called an attack on her 'Maha Vailo'.

"I reveal my face down card 'Waboku'," she revealed, face stoic as all battle damage become 0 for this turn.

"Do you find it necessary to cling onto hope, when there is none?" Kaiba sneered.

Kaiba ended his turn, placing a card face down on his side of the field.

"Just shut up and watch," she muttered.

She revealed her face down defence monster, activating 'Magician of Faith' flip effect to claim a Spell Card from her graveyard. She choose 'United We Stand' and equipped it to her 'Maha Vailo'. Next, she sacrificed her magician to summon 'Luminous Soldier' in attack mode. She called her attack, exhilarated as both monsters were destroyed. Alexa couldn't help but smile as she watched his life points drop below her own to 1100.

"Don't celebrate just yet. I play 'Swords of Revealing Light'."

"Looks like you're on the defence to me," Alexa chirped as the white swords fell into place, stopping her from attacking for three whole turns.

Kaiba refused to answer, playing his 'Battle Ox' in attack mode. On his next turn, he sacrificed it to summon 'Luster Dragon #2', taking out Alexa's 'Luminous Soldier', but nothing could stop her 'Maha Vailo' with 5350 attack points. Meanwhile, Alexa built up her hand, only placing 'Ominous Fortunetelling' on the field.

Seeing the end in sight, she watched as Kaiba drew his card and gave her a lopsided smirk. He placed the Spell Card 'Heavy Storm' on his disk and Alexa stood stunned as her Spell Cards were destroyed by a heavy wind storm. The dragon targeted her 'Maha Vailo', now at a lowly 1550 attack points. Life points now at 300, Alexa couldn't believe Kaiba had managed to make a comeback.

"This isn't over," she whispered to herself.

'Ominous Fortunetelling' activated. Once again Alexa considered a three-way choice; monster, trap or spell. Call it right and she could deduct his life points by 700.

"Spell," she called.

Kaiba turned the card he had picked out for her. Alexa could only hold her breath hoping she could get the card right for the first time this duel.

"You're correct," Kaiba smirked.

Flipping the card in her direction, Alexa made out the turquoise colour on the card and sighed in relief. Looking closer, her stomach dropped. She was looking at 'Stop Defence' and there was nothing she could do to stop her now inevitable defeat by the hands of Seto Kaiba. Kaiba regarded her, arms crossed, as she removed her duel disk and sighed, accepting the outcome. Meeting his blue eyes with curiosity within her own, she wondered what he was going to do.

"Nice duel, bro," Mokuba complemented his brother, emerging from behind the wall. It seemed Kaiba had been aware he was watching all along, but Alexa hadn't noticed since he had rounded the entry point to the roof, favouring his brother's side. "You've got to admit, that was a close one."

"Barely," Kaiba muttered. "Did you review the security tapes?"

Mokuba gave his older brother the highlights of her route to his office. This time the mention of her walking straight through the door was much more satisfactory. As the older Kaiba listened with disinterest, be cut his younger brother off as he admitted she had stole his own access card to gain entry to secure areas, without him noticing. Alexa was almost impressed with how smoothly the kid lied.

"I've heard enough. Roland, escort her to a meeting room. After that, come and find me," Kaiba commanded, grabbing his briefcase as he headed back inside.

Once again, Alexa found herself trailing Roland, deeming this portion of the test a success. If she had failed to impress, Kaiba would have kicked her out the building without a moment of hesitation. Unfortunately, she had the feeling she wasn't going to the meeting room to sign her employment contract quite yet.

XxX

Alexa tapped her fingers on the oak table as she waited for someone to appear. The room she was in was long, your typical boardroom complete with table, chairs and a display screen for presentations. She also noted holographic projectors, smirking as she envisioned business men giving Kaiba a PowerPoint presentation and then being blown out of the water as they were given a damn 3D experience. _Don't forget the cameras_ , she reminded herself, not even trying to be subtle as she stared them down. Her face dropped as Roland entered the room and took a seat across from her.

"Miss Kage,' he nodded in greeting, sliding a file across the table for her to view. Inside, Alexa found a personal profile. Running her eyes along the page, she saw a photo of herself, most likely taken from the laptop webcam, given she was in her top from that day at her breakfast counter. The information they had found on her was everything she had wanted them to find; mainly nothing but minor details like her name and a vague school and employment history. The bulk of the folder contained details on how she had fared on the trials. They were even aware she had duelled Carter to complete the hack, it seemed. She wasn't exactly surprised.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Miss Kage. Your performance throughout has been impressive. But now it's time that you are honest with me. Who the hell are you?" He took no time getting to the point, hands resting on the table to support his weight as he loomed over her. "We run obligatory checks on candidates as soon as they complete the computer hack, but it was like you barely existed."

"That's just the way I like it I'm afraid, but I'm not going to lie to you. Just ask me what you want to know. Hook me up to a lie detector if you have to," she answered, hoping he could see she was taking this seriously.

"Alright. Where did you go to school?" He questioned her.

"Like the file says I was homeschooled and I took all standard testing at a registered school with all the other students." Roland frowned as she supplied information he already knew. "But, unlike most students, let's say I had a lot of extracurriculars. You've seen the result of a lot of it. I learnt how to survive."

She hesitated, mind still fragile from the mental toll she took in their duel. Even grazing the details of her past caused her to wince. She scolded herself, wondering how she could be so weak.

"And your employment history?" He prompted.

"The real thing is a lot longer than that, I can tell you," she sighed. "Those were the jobs I would take that were, let's say, 'above board'. Every so often I would expand my network and allow myself to maintain a glowing employment history for the public eye. I don't limit myself, so if a genuine opportunity arises, I can take it. If you want me to explain further I will, but let's just say for now my work is varied, and I'd be more than capable at any task you choose for me to do."

"Why do you even want to work for Kaiba Corporation?" He added, hesitantly.

"Because we need each other. Your company always seems to be central to the misfortunes of the world. I won't bore you with my reasons, but I think it's time to use my expertise to do a little good in this world." She finished, arms crossing as she relaxed into her chair.

"We're not a charity, kid, we're a business." he stated, matter-of-factly.

"My personal agenda won't get in the way of my duties. In fact, they'll only make me a better employee. We both want the same thing; for the big bad wolf of the month to be sent back to whatever evil guy land he came from, so this company can do what it does best and bring joy to the children of the world," she chuckled, outlining the shape of a rainbow to end her speech.

In response, Roland grunted, excusing himself as he left the room. Alexa smirked as she pictured Kaiba's face as she suggested his technology brought joy to children, like he was some damn Saint. _He would probably deny it, saying they were his damn test subjects_ , she chuckled to herself quietly. With that thought, the man himself walked in.

"If the decision was left to me you'd be kicked out of here as fast as you can say ' _Blue Eyes_ '. However, my brother seems to think you could be useful to us. Even asked if you could work for him personally," he mocked. "But if you think I'd let someone we don't know anything about work for my little brother, you're even more deluded than he is."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," she conveyed sincerely.

"You'll be working for me where I can keep my eye on you, and don't look smug about it. The only reason you're here is because Mokuba is an equal partner around here now, and I promised I would value his opinion," Kaiba practically growled his words in warning.

The message was clear; she was here because a sixteen year old had insisted on it, and if she even put one toe out of line, he would be within his rights to fire her ass on the spot, like he wanted to from the very beginning. Fortunately, Alexa didn't care. She was in, and that was all she wanted.


	4. Chapter 3 - It's Time to Duel (2)

**Authors Note:** Hello, readers! So I had some very good advice in my comments and I've rethought things a bit. This story was actually already written so I'm editing a bit - hopefully for the better. Anyway, thank you Time Thief. This won't be perfect, but hopefully I'll get better. Also just for you I have options - read the whole duel in (1) or just the brief summary in (2) before continuing with the rest of the chapter. This is probably very weird, but oh well. It was kind of nice writing a full duel, but man it took some research!

 **Chapter Three - It's Time To Duel (2)**

 **(Short Duel Version)**

Alexa was right when she had guessed a duel against Kaiba wouldn't come close to the match she had against Carter. Every move she made was met with opposition; she played her favourite combo of ' _United We Stand_ ' with ' _Maha Vailo_ ' achieving an attack of 2850 through the monsters ability to increase its attack by 500 for every equip card attached. He countered with a ' _Negate Attack_ ', using his next turn to summon his ' _Blue Eyes_ ', now a six star monster, in combo with ' _Cost Down_ '.

In retaliation, she revived her monster with ' _Premature Burial',_ allowing her to equip it to her 'Maha Vailo'. Adding ' _Bright Castle'_ to the mix allowed her monster to beat his ' _Blue Eyes_ ' by 250 points, only to see it revived itself to finally evolve into his ' _Ultimate Dragon_ '. Even defeating this, his best monster, didn't throw him. He just kept coming back, hacking at her life points until they reached zero. It was the outcome she had expected, but she had never felt so bitter over losing a duel before, even if she had dealt her fair share of damage. Kaiba had ended the duel with a mere 400 points himself.

What annoyed her most was that he had destroyed the walls she had built up to protect herself. She frowned, recalling the moment in the duel when haunting words had echoed around her head; 'You stupid girl. Do you even think before you act? You're supposed to be better than this, but you're just a pawn to sacrifice, a soldier to mindlessly follow orders.'

Kaiba regarded her, arms crossed, as she removed her duel disk and sighed, accepting the outcome. Meeting his blue eyes with curiosity within her own, she wondered what he was going to do.

"Nice duel, bro," Mokuba complemented his brother, emerging from behind the wall. It seemed Kaiba had been aware he was watching all along, but Alexa hadn't noticed since he had rounded the entry point to the roof, favouring his brother's side. "You've got to admit, that was a close one."

"Barely," Kaiba muttered. "Did you review the security tapes?"

Mokuba gave his older brother the highlights of her route to his office. This time the mention of her walking straight through the door was much more satisfactory. As the older Kaiba listened with disinterest, be cut his younger brother off as he admitted she had stole his own access card to gain entry to secure areas, without him noticing. Alexa was almost impressed with how smoothly the kid lied.

"I've heard enough. Roland, escort her to a meeting room. After that, come and find me," Kaiba commanded, grabbing his briefcase as he headed back inside.

Once again, Alexa found herself trailing Roland, deeming this portion of the test a success. If she had failed to impress, Kaiba would have kicked her out the building without a moment of hesitation. Unfortunately, she had the feeling she wasn't going to the meeting room to sign her employment contract quite yet.

XxX

Alexa tapped her fingers on the oak table as she waited for someone to appear. The room she was in was long, your typical boardroom complete with table, chairs and a display screen for presentations. She also noted holographic projectors, smirking as she envisioned business men giving Kaiba a PowerPoint presentation and then being blown out of the water as they were given a damn 3D experience. _Don't forget the cameras_ , she reminded herself, not even trying to be subtle as she stared them down. Her face dropped as Roland entered the room and took a seat across from her.

"Miss Kage,' he nodded in greeting, sliding a file across the table for her to view. Inside, Alexa found a personal profile. Running her eyes along the page, she saw a photo of herself, most likely taken from the laptop webcam, given she was in her top from that day at her breakfast counter. The information they had found on her was everything she had wanted them to find; mainly nothing but minor details like her name and a vague school and employment history. The bulk of the folder contained details on how she had fared on the trials. They were even aware she had duelled Carter to complete the hack, it seemed. She wasn't exactly surprised.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Miss Kage. Your performance throughout has been impressive. But now it's time that you are honest with me. Who the hell are you?" He took no time getting to the point, hands resting on the table to support his weight as he loomed over her. "We run obligatory checks on candidates as soon as they complete the computer hack, but it was like you barely existed."

"That's just the way I like it I'm afraid, but I'm not going to lie to you. Just ask me what you want to know. Hook me up to a lie detector if you have to," she answered, hoping he could see she was taking this seriously.

"Alright. Where did you go to school?" He questioned her.

"Like the file says I was homeschooled and I took all standard testing at a registered school with all the other students." Roland frowned as she supplied information he already knew. "But, unlike most students, let's say I had a lot of extracurriculars. You've seen the result of a lot of it. I learnt how to survive."

She hesitated, mind still fragile from the mental toll she took in their duel. Even grazing the details of her past caused her to wince. She scolded herself, wondering how she could be so weak.

"And your employment history?" He prompted.

"The real thing is a lot longer than that, I can tell you," she sighed. "Those were the jobs I would take that were, let's say, 'above board'. Every so often I would expand my network and allow myself to maintain a glowing employment history for the public eye. I don't limit myself, so if a genuine opportunity arises, I can take it. If you want me to explain further I will, but let's just say for now my work is varied, and I'd be more than capable at any task you choose for me to do."

"Why do you even want to work for Kaiba Corporation?" He added, hesitantly.

"Because we need each other. Your company always seems to be central to the misfortunes of the world. I won't bore you with my reasons, but I think it's time to use my expertise to do a little good in this world." She finished, arms crossing as she relaxed into her chair.

"We're not a charity, kid, we're a business." he stated, matter-of-factly.

"My personal agenda won't get in the way of my duties. In fact, they'll only make me a better employee. We both want the same thing; for the big bad wolf of the month to be sent back to whatever evil guy land he came from, so this company can do what it does best and bring joy to the children of the world," she chuckled, outlining the shape of a rainbow to end her speech.

In response, Roland grunted, excusing himself as he left the room. Alexa smirked as she pictured Kaiba's face as she suggested his technology brought joy to children, like he was some damn Saint. _He would probably deny it, saying they were his damn test subjects_ , she chuckled to herself quietly. With that thought, the man himself walked in.

"If the decision was left to me you'd be kicked out of here as fast as you can say ' _Blue Eyes_ '. However, my brother seems to think you could be useful to us. Even asked if you could work for him personally," he mocked. "But if you think I'd let someone we don't know anything about work for my little brother, you're even more deluded than he is."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," she conveyed sincerely.

"You'll be working for me where I can keep my eye on you, and don't look smug about it. The only reason you're here is because Mokuba is an equal partner around here now, and I promised I would value his opinion," Kaiba practically growled his words in warning.

The message was clear; she was here because a sixteen year old had insisted on it, and if she even put one toe out of line, he would be within his rights to fire her ass on the spot, like he wanted to from the very beginning. Fortunately, Alexa didn't care. She was in, and that was all she wanted.


	5. Chapter 4 - Sparks Fly

**Chapter Four - Sparks Fly**

When Kaiba had said she was going to be working for him, the last thing Alexa expected was to turn into his shadow. Officially, her role was 'Personal Assistant to Mr Kaiba', which basically meant she followed him and allowed herself to be ordered around. She was sure he was waiting to see how far he could push her before she quit, but he hadn't really factored in her stubbornness.

"Kane, get me a coffee," he ordered, eyes never leaving the laptop placed on his desk.

"Of course, Mr Kaiba. Right away, Mr Kaiba," she exaggerated, practically bowing out the room as his jaw clenched in annoyance.

Alexa took great pleasure in turning his requests into regrets. The best thing was that she was doing exactly as he asked. 'You need to address me as Mr Kaiba,' he had said, so she did, roughly once every five seconds. In retaliation, he had decided to forget her name, and so their little game went on.

Placing a steaming mug of coffee on his desk, she then proceeded to retreat to the armchair she had claimed as her own. It barely lived up to Kaiba's own chair, but it was better than standing around. She had won that small battle when, upon insisting she stand and keep guard, she had decided to stand by his chair, practically breathing down his ear. She chuckled internally as she recalled the exchange; ' _I meant stand over there' he had growled. In response, she acted shocked, 'but Mr Kaiba, this spot is perfect to protect you in case you were attacked.'_

"Hey Seto, we just got the numbers in for the first year of the American Kaiba Land. It's even better than we imagined." Mokuba announced, handing over the report to his brother.

As Kaiba looked over the report with a nod, Alexa gave a small wave from her armchair.

"Hey Alexa. I didn't see you there. I see Seto finally got tired of you invading his space." The younger Kaiba chuckled, looking as cute as a button in his smart suit. "Err, are you okay, you're pretty quiet?"

Alexa held up a single finger, taking out her phone and typing out her response. Mokuba opened his phone and smiled as he read the message; _I was commanded not to speak in the presence of company._

"Seto, you can't stop her from speaking when there are other people in the room," he scolded him. "Anyway, I've got to go see how those potential recruits are getting on with their laptops."

"Maybe you should stay. It's certainly a lot more pleasant around here when Kale decides to turn mute." Kaiba muttered.

"Maybe we should all take a break. How about we go get a coffee, Seto?" Mokuba suggested.

The older Kaiba gestured to the steaming cup already in front of him. Alexa gave him her best glare and took out her phone again; _you have two options, drink it or knock it over. Bonus points if you tip it over his head._ Once again, Mokuba checked his screen and grinned. He went with option two in the end, minus the bonus points, much to Alexa's disappointment.

XxX

Apparently, Kaiba's idea of a break was sitting in the lounge on their level, while he glared at his phone. Meanwhile, Mokuba acted oblivious, telling Alexa about his day. In response she laughed, amazed at how lively and expressive he was.

"So then I said, technological correction runs in the Kaiba family and kicked the computer. The best part? It completely fixed the thing!"

Suddenly, she was distracted as the television screen turned to static. The next thing she knew, the screen turned black, the words 'for the attention of Seto Kaiba' showing up. Alexa rose, eyes glued to the screen.

"Roland, we've got a problem," she said into her communication device on her shirt collar.

"What is it, Kage?" Came the response.

"You need to locate your closest TV screen, we're about to get a message," she replied.

Kaiba stared at her, head turning to the TV as she relayed her last message. The countdown had gotten down to 23 seconds and the group sat silent, staring at the screen until it reached 0.

"Greetings. Recently, I received a challenge to duel, but I've got to admit I'm not a fan of legwork. Therefore, I thought I'd bring you to me. Currently, your building is on lock down. Only Kaiba is permitted to leave. Anyone else to attempt it will suffer a great shock. You've been warned."

With that cheery note from the digitised voice, Alexa had to scowl as Kaiba's immediate reaction was to return to his phone.

"What are you going to do, Seto?" Mokuba asked with a frown.

"Nothing. Maybe we'll actually get some work done around here if everyone is locked in," he retorted.

Alexa couldn't help but snort at his response, causing them to lock eyes with each other for a moment.

"Mr. Kaiba, did you see the message?" Roland asked as he entered the room.

"We saw it." Alexa cut in before Kaiba brought out the sass monster again. "Are you able to trace it?"

"We're working on it. Plus, we're looking into our candidates, trying to narrow down who was the most likely to pull it off," he told Kaiba.

"Makes me wish I was as good at hacking. Would have saved me a lot of effort if I'd just brought you to me," Alexa noted.

"Has anyone attempted to leave yet?" Kaiba inquired.

Turns out, the Kaiba staff had more sense than to start challenging the demands of the person holding them captive. It seems they had become desensitised to the madness over the years and were merely carrying on with their business.

"Kase, walk out the building," Kaiba commanded as they reached the first floor exit.

"Kaiba, walk off a cliff," she shot back.

With a huff, she realised he was being serious. His glare was practically challenging her to do it. Sighing, she reached for the door, the touch of one finger enough to send her flying backwards. Somewhere, Mokuba shouted her name. Alexa barely registered the fact that she had managed to take Kaiba down with her. She just lay there as her muscles twitched and convulsed, trying to get rid of the excess static.

"Ow," she managed to utter.

"That was pretty entertaining. Why don't you try it again, Kape. Maybe this time you won't take me with you." Kaiba muttered in her ear.

Slowly, she rolled over to her knees to release him, barely managing the effort it took to glare at him as he picked himself off the floor. Mokuba patted her on the back, causing her to flinch as the static caused an electric shock to pass between the two. Planting her but on the floor, she looked up at Mokuba.

"Don't touch the door," she warned him, sarcasm drenching her voice. "You can go ahead, Kaiba."

"If you recall, I'm the only one that can touch it, Kaze," he pointed out.

"Can't we just find some rubber gloves or something?" Mokuba suggested.

"Good idea, Mokuba," Kaiba smirked, clearly enjoying her pain.

"Don't bother. It won't work and Kaiba knows it," she told Mokuba, wishing Kaiba would go back to being brooding and angry. "It's an electric field. So it's not contained within the door, basically the whole perimeter. As to how it won't shock you Kaiba, I don't have a clue."

Reaching for the door, Alexa prepared for Kaiba to be thrown back. She was sadly disappointed. He walked right through it with ease.

"Where are you going, Seto?" Mokuba yelled after him. "You can't go on your own. Alexa, stop him."

For once, Alexa could finally see the family resemblance as Mokuba crossed his arms, his eyes brewing a storm of rage. With a sigh, she knew what she had to do. It was going to really, really, hurt. She grabbed a plastic chair and used it to prop the door open. Then, she took a deep breath and ran full pelt through the door, screaming as the current burnt her from the inside out.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Thief

**Chapter Five - The Thief**

Waking up she found herself in the plush leather seat of Kaiba's supercar.

"That was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen anyone do before," he scowled.

"Would you believe it's not the most idiotic thing I've ever done, though?" She groaned.

"It wouldn't be that much of a stretch," he muttered.

As they speeded along, Alexa tried to remember how to move without spasming. Lacking any success, she decided to distract herself with the problem at hand. Someone had clearly gone out of their way to drag Kaiba out into the open. Given their words, they knew all about the tasks, but that didn't mean they weren't going to pose a threat.

"Park about ten minutes away from Domino Square. We'll walk in so I can access the situation," she requested.

Alexa had to wonder why she even bothered as Kaiba parked his car directly in front of Domino Square, getting out of the car before even turning off the ignition. She rushed after him, cursing his lack of self preservation. The reaction to his presence was immediate. She counted five people heading in his direction, most definitely not just one duelist. Hanging back, she watched as the group circled him.

"Excuse me, sir?" She tapped on the shoulder of the closet man, directing their attention.

Then she hit him in the gut. Alexa dodged and dived, knocking each of her opponents to the ground in turn. Counting four down, she wondered where the fifth has scuttled off to. Edging around the fountain, she found her answer as Kaiba had him pinned underfoot, looking bored.

"Are you finished?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"What? Saving your life? I'm not sure, I might need to knock myself out if I want to eradicate all potential threats," she contemplated the scene a moment longer. "Wait a second, Carter?"

The hacker was squirming under Kaiba's foot, his gray hair the first indication to hint at his identity. Well, at least they knew who sent the message, but there was no way Carter had pulled off the electrical blockade. Alexa picked Carter up by his shirt, pinning him against the fountain wall.

"What the hell, Carter? I know you're shady, but since when did you start taking orders like some lacky?" She questioned the squirming hacker.

"That's all thanks to you, sweetheart." He practically spat his words at her. "You dragged me into this with your damn laptop. I put the feelers out, trying to get my hands on one, and I manage to get myself dragged into this mess."

"That sounds like your fault to me. Whatever, let's get to the point. Why are you trying to kidnap Kaiba?" She increased the pressure on his chest, knowing full well he found her intimidating.

"Come on, Alexa. You're smarter than that. You'd really expect they'd send me if they wanted to grab him?" He sneered, eyes sparking.

"You're a distraction," she realised. "What's the real target?"

As soon as the question was out of her mouth she knew there was only one thing anyone could use to get to Seto Kaiba. She dropped Carter and paced back to the car, only to realise Kaiba had taken her place in interrogating the hacker. She could only wait, the tension in her body rising as the seconds trickled by. Finally, Kaiba was satisfied and dropped Carter, heading back towards the car.

"What the hell was that?" She yelled at him, slamming the car door.

The engine roared to life and they took off, the speed he was going enough to content Alexa that he actually cared that his little brother had been the real target. Having too much time to think as they headed back to Kaiba Corp, she began to calm, a sudden thought stopping her rage in its tracks; why draw out Kaiba, but leave Mokuba heavily guarded?

It made no sense. They could have created a scene and dispersed security, or even allowed both Kaiba brothers to leave the building without their usual haul of guards. Alexa stared at Kaiba wide eyed as she wondered what he had been interrogating Carter about. Just as she was about to confront him, they arrived at Kaiba Corp.

"Well that didn't take long. Must have been a quick duel," Mokuba greeted them happily as he approached the car.

Kaiba blatantly ignored him, heading to the company's elevator. Alexa scrambled after him, glad the electric field was long gone, and managed to catch the elevator with her hand before the doors closed. Stepping in, he slammed at the seventh floor button with impatience. From Alexa's background research into Kaiba Corp, she remembered the seventh floor was basically office space.

Kaiba strided along the floor, coming to an office belonging to a Mr. Peter Wilson. Mr. Wilson was currently hard at work, head rising as Kaiba entered, barely managing to stammer a greeting before he was ordered to leave the room. Alexa watched as Kaiba pushed the desk aside, then placed his hand on the flooring which faded to black and appeared to scan his hand. She peered into the floor's depths, wondering what she was supposed to be looking at. Kaiba's hands tightened, finally lashing out to kick over the office chair.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on, or are you just going to trash this guy's office?" She asked, watching him stew in his range as he sat on the floor.

Having enough of staring at him seething on the floor, she went to do something practical, heading to the nearest computer to access the security cameras. She located the right camera, seeing it had a good view of the chosen office, she brought up today's feed, inputting the time when they had exited the building to head to Domino Square.

Watching the footage on high speed, it didn't take long to locate the moment when someone had entered the office. At normal speed, she watched as the Kaiba Corp employee entered the office, exiting with a look around the corridor, shoving something into his pocket. Comparing the still of their thief with the Kaiba Corp employee database, it didn't take long to find a match. She found Kaiba in his office, staring out the window.

"Ok, so I looked at the security cameras on the seventh floor…"

"You're fired," he interrupted her, voice void of emotion.

"Excuse me?" She responded, startled.

"I said you're fired. Now get out of my sight," he snapped.

"Fine. I've got stuff to do anyway."

That, she did. Stopping off at the security base on her way out, she downloaded all the information she would need to a company laptop. A sudden thought popped into her head, and she rounded the thing off, deleting any leads to the thief. Making her way down to the ground floor in the lift, she took a deep breath, ready to make an absolute fool of herself. Being intercepted by Mokuba, she realised this was going to hurt a lot more than she had thought.

"Alexa," he sounded relieved that he had found her. "What happened? Seto won't tell me anything. I don't know how I can help."

"You can help by forgiving me," she whispered.

"What are you…"

"Your devil of a brother fired me, Mokuba." She yelled, causing him to flinch. Many employees turned at the sound. "If you want to help, give him a message from me; tell him he'll regret the day he ever met me. I'll be the end of him."

She left him standing there, staring at her, stunned, as she walked out the exit. Deciding she might as well go out with a bang, she jumped in his supercar, turning the key left in the ignition, and drove off.


	7. Chapter 6 - Blue Eyes: The Musical

**Chapter Six - Blue Eyes: The Musical**

Alexa spent the next couple of days miserable, never thinking she would miss following Kaiba around like a lost puppy. Fortunately, her fowl mood allowed her to find comfort in her work, drowning in the little information she had managed to accumulate surrounding the thief and his associated organisation. Everyday, she sat in the park across from the Kaiba Corp building, watching and waiting. Four days in, a familiar man approached her and joined her on the bench. Alexa noted the suits glancing in their direction.

"Lovely day," said the thief, cheerily.

He was a short, large-bellied man, with a circular face, never void of a sheen of sweat. Alexa had to fight the urge to scowl. She had been staring at this man's face for many nights and to be able to resist the urge to punch him was overwhelming. Instead, she kept her face blank.

"Just peachy," she muttered.

"Quite a persistent little thing aren't you. Showing up multiple times on our systems," he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"You should be giving me your thanks. You would have a lot more people on your tail if I hadn't tracked you down on the cameras and erased your presence," she scoffed.

"Believe me, if we didn't want to be tracked you never would have found us. You've been more of a nuisance than a help to us," he frowned.

"Why don't you just come out and admit you need my help," she sighed.

"What makes you think we need your help?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Looks like I've been wasting my time waiting around for you then," she said, rising from the bench.

"Alright, we need your help," he sighed. "Encryption was a lot more complex than we thought. We need someone with high level access to unlock certain parameters."

Alexa nodded, glad her suspicions were confirmed with the suggestion that whatever Kaiba had lost might be some sort of laptop or hard drive containing classified information.

"But, I don't work for Kaiba Corp anymore. I doubt I had high level access in the first place," she pointed out.

"You didn't, but it would be a whole lot easier reinstating your employment and raising your access level than it would for us to start from scratch," he explained. "Now, what do you want from us?"

"I want a promise that, whatever this thing is, it will destroy him, and that he knows I was the one to do it," she said, darkly.

"Believe me, once we crack this thing, the name of Kaiba will be obliterated from the world."

XxX

Alexa was surprised when she found out that bad guy HQ was located in a flashy hotel. Arriving at the penthouse suite, she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people on site. Most were running security, hanging around the edges of the room, but the main action was being carried out in the one corner. In it contained an array of computers and complex technology being manned by five people, one of which was Carter, who was circulating the screens, all the while typing on his own laptop that he carried about.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Kaiba's number one cheerleader," he taunted her, barely glancing from his screen.

"Must be pretty embarrassing to get beaten up by a cheerleader. Don't you think, Carter?" She shot back, her mood dampening as she took in the level of opposition.

Glancing around she realised he wasn't the only one to flinch at her comment. Looks like the five members of the tech squad had all been sent as the sacrificial lambs that was Kaiba's distraction. _Poor things, no wonder they had all gone down like a sack of potatoes_ , she thought with a shake of her head. There were even a few chuckles from around the room from the security detail, who were giving her lengthy looks.

"So, are you going to give me a run down on what's happening, or are you going to stand there sneering at me?" She asked Carter.

"That won't be necessary," the thief, Mr Sachi, remarked. Alexa gave him a lengthy look. "Our deal stated you would help us in the promise that Kaiba was ruined. You didn't request any details as to how we would do it."

"You can't just expect me to sit here without a clue as to what I'm getting myself into," she retaliated, annoyed.

"Once we have reprogrammed the data disk to accept you as a high level member of Kaiba Corp, all you have to do is provide a thumb print and retinal scan. We can do the rest after that," he explained.

Alexa accepted the minimal information with a nod of her head and decided to take a seat in full view of the tech team. Knowing what she was looking for was at least a relief. Eyeing the set up, she suspected the disc would be in the main computer, evident by its multiple screens and connections linking it to the others. How she could be sure that they hadn't replicated the disc's contents before starting was another matter.

"All this fuss over a disc. Makes you wonder what the hell Kaiba is hiding, doesn't it?" She wondered aloud, heading over to the corner and seating herself on a table, arms extended back to support herself.

"Odds are five to one on Kaiba's nudes," said one guy, happily accepting her presence.

His comment caused her to snort, shaking the image from her mind. The last thing she needed was that popping into her head right now.

"What odds can I get on the exclusive performance of 'Blue Eyes: The Musical' starring Seto Kaiba," she teased him with a grin. "Seriously though it's a floppy disc, how hard can it be?"

"Well, considering the the complex encryption of multiple layers, sporadic evolution of passwords, and personalised unlocking mechanisms, I'd say pretty hard," he exaggerated, trying to impress.

"No kidding. Well, I suppose if you mess up you could just start again. You must have made back ups," she smiled, scooting in closer.

"I wish. Non-replicate floppy. Makes the whole thing a living nightmare. We need to run simulations to make sure we don't ruin the underlying code containing the information," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Before she could dig a bit further, Mr Sachi had noticed her hanging around their operation and called her over. With a smile in the guys direction she shrugged as if to say 'suppose I better head over there'. Silently, she thanked him. All she had to do now, was get the disc.


	8. Chapter 7 - You're Welcome

**Chapter Seven - You're Welcome**

"Alright, Miss Kage, we're ready for you," declared Mr Sachi.

Alexa looked up from her position on the couch. She had been lounging there for half an hour, thinking about how on Earth she was going to pull this off. She cursed her inability to gather any real information. She could have prepared, but no, she just sat around Kaiba Corp waiting to be dragged into a situation she couldn't handle.

"Ready to do what?" She asked confused, eyes narrowing on the ceiling above her.

"The ID scans. We're ready," he stated ominously.

Outside Alexa was a vision of calm, bordering on boredom. She stretched, all the while trying to contain her inner panic. She didn't expect for them to be ready. She wasn't. She barely had a plan. Hell, she didn't have a plan. This was about to get messy.

She strided up to the main computer, the outdated floppy located within the external port at her right hand side. Behind her loomed the bulging from of Mr Sochi, flanked by two security goons, the rest in position to cover the immediate area and all possible exits. Carter stood in the far corner, watching his laptop screen with intensity. She stared at the thumb print scanner, her hesitation triggering a faint click from behind that was all too familiar to Alexa.

"Don't test us, girl. We're not amateurs." Mr Sachi warned her.

Alexa didn't have time to hesitate. She span, using her momentum to add to the blow at the inside of his arm, at the joint. The gun fired, but the bullet grazed her arm, knocked from its original target. She rolled, grabbing the gun off the floor and aimed it at Mr Sochi. Alexa immediately regretted the decision, the sound of safeties clicking off as multiple guns were pointed in her direction.

"If you value your life, you'll put that gun down right now," Mr Sachi warned her.

"If you value yours, you'll command your men to stand down," she shot back.

"Do it," Mr Sachi taunted her.

"You need me," Alexa stated.

Alexa barely had time to register a second force of guards beginning to take aim, shooting those at the front in the back. She dived, trying to cover her vitals from the rapid fire being aimed in her direction. Kicking over a table, Alexa cowered, the rapid fire reminding her of darker days. A second later, silence followed.

"Actually, they didn't," came a feminine voice.

Alexa's breathing grew rapid. She knew that voice. Slowly, she peeked out from over the table, her gut twisting as she spotted the silver haired woman standing before her. Her companions, Alexa suspected, were rounding up the group of hackers, demanding they keep their hands against the far wall.

"Letterman," Alexa breathed, her heart racing.

"I see you're still making rash decisions to get yourself killed," the small and toned woman said pointedly.

"I was…"

"Do not say you were fine. They didn't need you alive. You were about to be filled with bullets and your corpse laid over a scanner for your last act in this world," Letterman scolded her. "When will you learn?"

"I didn't ask you to come. I don't need your help," she spat back, feeling like a child in a headmaster's office.

"You should of stayed with Kaiba, Alexa. He was the only one who could keep you safe, but here you are, trying to prove you can do it all by yourself, but you can't. Now it's time to decide; come back with us, or fight for your freedom."

"I'll never come back with you," Alexa growled.

"Then fight for your life."

Letterman pulled out a gun and shot her in the shoulder. She screamed, agonising pain radiating from her arm and black spots clouding her vision. She had to fight. She had to stay awake. Otherwise, she would die. Opening her tear filled eyes, she saw that her company had already left as she suffered.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, she stood up, grimacing as her body protested the sudden movement. Alexa paused, evaluating the computer set up. She staggered towards where the disc was and left her injured arm to dangle, unprotected, as she reached out in hope. The disc was still there. She slipped it into her pocket and hit the button for the elevator. After what felt like a century, the doors began to close and a digital angel from above announced the elevator was going down.

Alexa slumped against the wall and began to access her wounds. The graze on her arm was barely worth considering, but the wound to her shoulder was agonising. Had it hit bone? A blood vessel? A nerve? Dr Alexa decided either way it hurt like hell and she wasn't going to move her arm for a century.

Weak, she stumbled out of the elevator, trying to keep her head down. On the way out, she swiped a black trench coat that was resting on a chair in the lobby. Awkwardly wrapping it around herself with one kind of good arm, she exited the building. Across the street, she spotted a pay phone. Realising she wasn't going to get far in this state, she headed towards it, fishing out some change from her pocket. Leaning against the edge of the phone box, she dialled Kaiba's number.

"What?" Came his familiar blunt voice.

"Kaiba, listen I've got the…" She croaked, cut off by the dial tone.

With a curse, she tried again, but as the ring droned on, Alexa noticed a bunch of suits arriving at the hotel. They were on guard and Alexa didn't think her luck was going to hold out if they were looking for her. Head down and world spinning she took off across the park that fronted the hotel. One glance back was enough to tell her they had noticed the blood that now soaked the phone booth wall. At a shout, her panic spiked and she was off running once again, adrenaline acting as the worst pain inhibitor in the world.

At an alleyway, she slowly lowered herself on the the floor, allowing herself to collapse against the wall. There was only one place she could think of to get Kaiba's attention and, in her current state, it might as well have been on Mars. Tears streamed down her face, she decided she was going to die in an alleyway. She had lost the fight. She closed her eyes.

"Err.. are you okay 'der?"

"Swell," Alexa croaked, delirious.

She was currently regretting the decision to sit down. What an idiot. Looking up, her vision began to spin and she wondered why she had opened them again. A groan escaped her lips.

"Look, jus' sit tight I'm callin' you an ambulance."

"No!" She tried to get up to stop the guy, but all she managed to do was collapse at his feet. He bent down to her level, and she looked up to meet his concerned dark eyes. "D… don't do it. That will kill me quicker."

"Then what can I do to help?" He asked her.

Alexa was starting to think her blood loss was affecting her perception. Any normal person would have just called her an ambulance, or maybe decide to leave her to bleed to death. However, this guy seemed to understand that she was in something far too deep, and he was offering his help of all things.

"42 Sakura Way. By Domino Plaza." She slurred.

The guy nodded, "ya might need to brace yourself, dis is gonna hurt," he warned her.

Hurt was an understatement. She screamed and moaned, causing the guy to wince as he picked her up. She slumped against him, trying her best to function. Luckily, his car wasn't parked too far away meaning she could soon collapse into the plush leather seats. Her brain whispered to her about the fact that she had just gotten into a car with a complete stranger, but she didn't care. Right now her top priority was a nap. As she began to close her eyes, she found the stranger tapping at her cheeks.

"Listen, I don't think dat's a good idea. Talk to me. What's at Sakura Way? Can dey help you?" He inquired, eyes now fixed on the road.

Alexa found herself wondering when they had set off. The motion of the car was making her feel nauseous. The plan was simple; get in, wave the disc in front of the cameras, and hopefully Kaiba will get off his ass and get her some medical assistance. Or Mokuba. Probably Mokuba. Alexa giggled as she realised she didn't have her deck.

"Err… you okay?"

It seemed he was well out of his comfort zone with a bleeding and delirious woman in his car. Strange that.

"I don't suppose you have Pot of Greed on you, do you?" She sang, head sagging in his direction.

"Ya mean the Duel Monsters card?" His voice went high pitched in disbelief.

"It's the key," she whispered, as if she was sharing a secret.

"Right…" he muttered.

Arriving on Sakura Way, Alexa began shouting as she saw the seemingly derelict building that she had visited to get her Kaiba Corp laptop. The guy's eyes widened as he pulled into the pavement.

"I should 'ave drove you to a hospital," he cursed.

"Pot of Greed," she moaned.

"Dat's all you've been sayin' for the past five minutes. Just take it," the guy sighed, handing her the Duel Monsters card.

Alexa grasped the card as if it was a rare Egyptian God. Then, much to the surprise of the man sitting beside her, she opened the door and rolled out the car. She crawled to number 42 as the guy yelled at her. Ignoring him, she revealed the control panel and placed the card on it to scan.

The door unlocked with a click and opened with a creak. She crawled and fished out the floppy disk, still resting in the back of her pocket. From pure exhaustion, she finally collapsed. Using the last of her energy to roll on her side, she held out the floppy for the cameras to see.

"I got your stupid disc, Seto," she whispered harshly. "You're welcome."

Then, she passed out.


	9. Chapter 8 - Moneybags

**Chapter Eight - Moneybags**

Alexa groaned as she woke, feeling as if she had been run over by a truck and her arm torn off in the process. She wondered if the reality was more preferable. Forcing her eyes open, she found herself in what looked like a hospital, a familiar dark eyed guy standing over her. He seemed to be sporting a black eye. Alexa found herself wondering how she had missed it before.

"Hey, you finally awake?" He smiled, happy to see her.

"Did you take me to a hospital?" She croaked, wondering if it was worth taking off.

"No. Dis guy I know showed up. He's a jerk, but he knows people. Got you a private med team," he explained, running his hand through his blond hair.

Alexa wondered why he sounded so annoyed that help had arrived. Maybe she had caused him more trouble then she thought. She looked at the guy with sympathy before realising that she knew him. Her mouth hung open in shock.

"You're Joey Wheeler," she gasped.

"You're just realisin' dat now?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I was kind of preoccupied before. You know, bleeding out and stuff…" she muttered.

Of all the people to find her bleeding out in the street, Alexa didn't expect one of the top duellists in the world to help her out. At least that explained how he just happened to have a Pot of Greed card on him. She shook her head before realising her luck wasn't a top priority here.

"The disk! Where is it?" she demanded, throwing her scratchy covers off herself so she could stand up.

"Woah, hold on dere. I got it right here. Had to fight off a frickin' army to keep it though," he complained, attempting to force her back into bed.

"Was it those suits? Joey, your eye! It's all my fault," she shook, angry with herself as the events came flooding back to her.

"No, no nothing like dat. Jus' calm down… err… what's your name?" He questioned her.

"Alexa."

"Nice to meet ya, Alexa. Look, here's what happened; you'd completely blacked out and I was scared you were dyin'. So I'm callin' for backup when frickin' Seto Kaiba turns up in dat helicopter of his. I wasn't gonna leave ya with pretty boy so I made sure to come with ya. I got dis black eye makin' sure his goons didn't take dat disc of yours. I imagine it must be pretty important if you're bein' shot at for it," he explained. He fished out the disc from his jacket pocket and held it out for her. "Just promise me you'll stay in bed if I give ya dis."

She nodded, never before so relieved to see an outdated piece of tech in her life. She grasped it firmly, holding it close to her chest.

"Ya know, I thought you'd be more shocked when I said Kaiba turned up," he grinned. "Course I s'pose he's not as famous as I am."

Joey puffed up his chest in pride as Alexa smiled faintly. It was at this moment when Mokuba decided to run in. His violet eyes were shining in relief as he saw Alexa upright.

"Alexa," he sighed in relief. "I'm so glad you're ok. When Seto told me you were in the medical wing I had to head over here right away."

"Wait, so you didn't make Kaiba come to get me?" She asked him, puzzled.

"No. I didn't even realise you were here until fifteen minutes ago and that was because I was trying to convince Seto we needed you back," he cocked his head.

"Wait a second, do you know dese guys, Alexa?" Joey wondered aloud.

Alexa smiled sheepishly, "you could say that. I kind of work for them. I thought that if I could get to Sakura Way they might come for me."

"You work for Kaiba?" Joey yelped.

"Well, I did…" she trailed off.

"Alexa, you risked your life for my brother. There's no way he's going to fire you now," Mokuba reasoned.

However, Alexa wasn't so sure. A lot had transpired since she had left Kaiba Corp and despite the fact that she had managed to retrieve the disc, she was still unsure as to what her fate might be. Instead, she was content to tell Mokuba and Joey the events that had occurred, carefully omitting the fact she had seen some familiar faces. She thought it better to think they had just turned on themselves in a stroke of luck, rather than the truth.

"But, I don't understand Alexa. Why did you have to do all of this? What was it for?" Mokuba questioned her, curiously.

"Well it was dat d…"

"That Carter guy," Alexa interrupted.

Mokuba nodded looking annoyed. Alexa could tell that he knew she wasn't giving him the whole story, but unfortunately it wasn't her story to tell. She smiled at him, hoping he knew that she understood. Either way his question still stood; what was it all for? Only one man knew the answer to that question.

XxX

Having spent a good couple of days resting up, Alexa found herself sick of waiting. Joey and Mokuba came and went, but the one person she wanted to talk to hadn't even come to demand his stupid floppy back. Eventually, Alexa decided she would have to go to him.

Routing in her bag for the stuff Mokuba had picked up from her apartment, Alexa sighed as she picked out a black mini skort she usually wore on nights out and a plain white cami (turns out Mokuba is awful at picking out clothes for a comfy recovery). Concerned over people giving her looks over her bandages, she picked up the blue jacket Joey had left behind and slipped her one good arm through, letting the other side hang down over her injured shoulder. Completing the look with her black and white spotty converse (Mokuba wasn't completely hopeless it seemed) she set off for the office of Seto Kaiba. More out of habit than anything else, Alexa just walked into the office without a second thought.

"I said don't disturb me, Roland," Kaiba muttered as he sat at his desk, writing on some papers.

"Sorry. I just thought I'd come for my grapes, or were you planning on bringing some flowers to the medical wing for me?" She inquired with a tilt of her head.

"Don't mess with me, Kage," Kaiba growled, beginning to stand as he took in her presence. Alexa was shocked at his icy demeanour. She was starting to realise his sarcastic, brooding self was far from the truly ruthless man that many knew him to be. He was inches from her face as he breathed, "what do you want from me?"

"I don't understand," she glared back, standing her ground.

"Mokuba told me everything. The disc has been rewritten so only you can access it," he stated coldly.

"Not just me." She shook her head. "I was just added to the list of high ranking employees of Kaiba Corp…"

He went to grab at her arm, causing her to instinctively kick out at him. Usually she would admit she had overreacted, but her arm was weak and fragile. A constant reminder that she had been made to fight for her life by a group she dispiced. He fell with a thud against the floor and Alexa pinned him down using the full weight of her body.

"Don't try that again," she barked. "Now stop talking in riddles and tell me what the hell you're trying to get at before I get angry."

"I want to know what you want for your silence," he said through gritted teeth. "I suppose you get a kick out of this. Having me under your control."

"What the hell do you mean?" She yelled at him. "I'm giving you the disc, Kaiba. It was the plan all along. Why do you think I contacted you as soon as I had the damn thing?"

"To let me know you'd seen what's on it."

"I haven't seen it at all. I don't care what's on it."

Alexa could feel all the tension and anger leave Kaiba's body. Instead, he just regarded her carefully. Sighing, she awkwardly rolled off his body, content to sit beside him quietly as she tried to stop herself from shaking.

"I left it with you for four days thinking you already knew everything. You didn't look once?" He muttered, seemingly annoyed with himself as he picked himself off the ground to sit upright.

"If you want me to know, then you can tell me yourself," she sighed. She took the disc out of Joey's jacket pocket and handed it over to him. "Here."

"I was serious when I said you're the only who can access it now. That so called list was one person maximum. The only way they could have rewritten it was to replace my data with yours," he explained bluntly.

"Well I suppose that explains why they needed me. Must be easier to drag in someone just looking for trouble, than kidnap a heavily guarded Kaiba," she sighed. "Just make sure you rewrite the disk yourself to put it right. Maybe put in some updated security if that's possible. Like I said, you'll tell me when you want me to know."

With that, she used her one good arm to readjust Joey's jacket and pushed herself up. Back turned, she headed towards the door.

"You should dress down for work a lot more in the future," he called out to her. Alexa paused, taking in what he had said. Turning around she looked at him, eyebrows raised. He was still sitting on the floor, but his cocky demeanour had returned. "I'd ditch Wheeler's jacket though."

"I'll consider it, except I'm not too sure if you can afford me now," she shook her head at him.

Once again she headed back towards the door, but not before she caught his words. With a slight smile, she envisioned him sitting there on the floor, arms crossed and smug beyond belief.

"I can afford anything that I want."


	10. Epilogue - Shades

**Epilogue - Shades**

Alexa sat down on the bench in the park, watching as a couple of kids ran around, chasing off the pigeons that had gathered for scraps. A young woman with short brunette hair, the ends slightly curling, joined her, adjusting her well-fitted beige trench coat as she sat down.

"So, you're alive then," she observed, glancing down at the phone she had pulled out her pocket.

"Just about. I bet Letterman is pleased I passed her little 'test'," Alexa scoffed, slightly enraged.

"You need to make this work, Alexa. There are so few people in this world that can escape our control. You're not going to be able to blag your way in, like you did with Kaiba, again," the woman cautioned her.

"I know," Alexa sighed, picking at the peeling paint on the bench.

The only reason Alexa had gotten in there in the first place was because Mokuba had let her. She never had a good enough plan to access those high security floors without him. She was a useless idiot who ran before she walked, and ended up flat on her face.

"Keep your head down, make some allies. You never know when you're going to need them," she said darkly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alexa asked.

"Just keep your guard up. You know as well as I do how much this organisation has grown in the past couple of years," she recalled.

"Powerful figureheads dropping left, right and centre," Alexa muttered. Suddenly, a fog seemed to clear in Alexa's mind. "No."

"What?" The woman questioned her.

"I know what you're hinting at and you better listen to me, Louisa. I work for Kaiba now, and if you even consider making him a target…" she hesitated.

"What would you do?" Louisa asked, knowing full well that there was no answer, just an empty threat.

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Alexa breathed.

She didn't need to hear Louisa's answer to know she was right. They had never viewed Kaiba Corporation as a target before. Their systems were state-of-the-art and nothing that they could begin to contend with, yet they centred around a kids card game and amusement parks, which wasn't exactly high on the priority list for them. That's the whole reason Alexa had gone there in the first place.

"I'm just warning you that it's a possibility. The last thing you need to do is let your guard down when tensions are high like this," Louisa sighed.

"You mean when Letterman is majorly ticked off," Alexa translated.

"Just be careful, little sister," Louisa warned her, rising off the bench.

"What difference will being careful make?" Alexa muttered.

"Not much, when you face Shades."

—

Hello everyone. So that's it for this story, but never fear Alexa will be back! She still has many foes to face so I hope you'll keep a look out. Also, thank you so much for reading this. There is nothing better than writing a fic and getting a great reaction, so this one is dedicated to Time Thief, who reviews so much and has really inputted to making this story better! See you soon :D


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